Peri-urban and rural territories: between population growth and the digital challenge
Following the first lockdown, one in three French people living in a big city want to change his or her place of residence. A closer proximity to nature, a more authentic living environment or a calmer pace of life are all reasons that push the French to turn to medium-sized cities or even small towns. However, these peri-urban and rural areas are often stuck with limited access to digital technology, which can slow down their demographic development.
Territorial Marketing Campaign “Bretagne — Passez à l’Ouest” in 2017
Last week, Qucit attended two conferences on the future of our peri-urban and rural territories, participating in the Salon des Maires et des Collectivités Locales and the first edition of the Rencontres des Villes Moyennes organized by the Fabrique de la Cité.
These conferences were a brilliant opportunity to deepen our knowledge of these territories that are attractive to a large number of urban dwellers but which sometimes suffer from poor access to digital technology.
The attractiveness of French people for medium-sized cities according to surveys by Kantar and Potloc
How do the French percieve medium-sized cities? In an attempt to answer this question, the Kantar Institute and Potloc conducted two surveys.
The study shows that the desire of the french populace for space and nature has been reinforced by the health crisis:
More than 80% of respondents aspire to live in a house with a garden in the countryside.
One out of five French people want to change where they live and the proportion is even higher for those living in big cities (one in three French people).
To explain these important figures, the surveyors wanted to understand how representations of territories are perceived and considered in the minds of the French people.
For example, the French associate better adaptation to climate change and greater authenticity with rural areas. Conversely, large cities are perceived as economically more attractive territories. Medium-sized cities, on the other hand, are synonymous with an ideal place to raise children.
The medieval village of Conques and the city of Annecy
Surveys also show that medium-sized cities attract the French for different reasons:
Urban dwellers being attracted to medium-sized cities for their calm and the space they offer.
While rural people may be attracted to these cities for their quality of service and the employment opportunities they generate and provide.
However, for people living in medium-sized towns, the primary reason for moving there is still work.
Finally, the study sought to understand how the French perceive their place of residence. The survey found that the vast majority of French people are satisfied with where they live, especially those living in small towns or rural areas. It is interesting to note that what medium-sized city residents like most about where they live is the ability to move around easily on foot as well as their proximity to nature.
The survey thus demonstrates the growing attraction to medium-sized cities. The challenge for this area is now to attract companies in order to develop: who will ultimately have no difficulty in attracting talent.
From : Rencontres des Villes Moyennes (La Fabrique de la Cité) — Medium-sized cities and the French, between attachment and rejection | Presentation of the results of the Kantar-Potloc survey
Moderator: Cécile Maisonneuve, President of La Fabrique de la Cité
Emmanuel Rivière, Managing Director of Kantar’s Public Division
François Moerlen, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of Real Estate (FNAIM)
Robert Herman, Former President of the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg
Focus on digitization and digital sobriety
The digitization of services and competences of municipalities has become an imperative in order to meet demographic, economic and climatic challenges. However, the digital divide continues to widen between large conurbations and small municipalities.
The Gorges de l’Ardèche and the village of Rocamadour
Today, one of the reasons why peri-urban and rural territories are so “undigitized” lies in the design of digital tools. It is carried out by urban dwellers for dense geographical areas!
The phenomenon of digitization in peri-urban areas often consists of replacing a physical service with a digital service. This contributes to degrading the bonds of solidarity specific to local public services. Yet these links are essential to the life of small villages and towns. In this way, the digitization of these services contributes to amplifying the already existing digital divide.
In addition, the digital sector must reduce its environmental impact. Of all business sectors, digital is not the most emissive, but its growth rate is worrying: between 7% and 8% per year. This is the highest growth rate of all sectors. Its energy consumption is also growing by 8 to 9% per year and the waste it generates is still treated too minimally (It is estimated that 80% of this waste never reaches the sorting channels).
Digital technology must therefore change and advance in order to be viable in the long term and respond to the environmental emergency while adapting to the needs of all territories. More and more initiatives are emerging to address these issues, such as the startup Plateaux Numériques, which offers low-tech websites with a low environmental impact.
Resulting from : Salon des Maires et des Collectivités Locales — Les pratiques digitales des petites villes et des villages : concilier leur développement, leur sobriété, leur accessibilité — presented by Gauthier Roussilhe, founder of Plateaux Numériques.